Guild Raises $2m to Help Creators Own and Monetize Their Work

Guild, a social support platform that allows musicians and creators to better monetize their work, is launching in public beta with $2 million in pre-token financing.

What it does:

• Citing the fact that creators are excluded while tech companies and labels monetize their art, Guild offers a “create-to-own” model, in which creators can earn “Note” tokens for the work they already do – creating music, uploading music, sharing, collaborating, and contributing to platforms.

• Whether uploading tracks, engaging fans or building datasets, creators earn part of the outcome.

Creator tools:

• Guild combines numerous tools into a single platform:

• Smart contracts – for on-chain provenance, IP protection, royalty splits, and gated access.

• AI agents – to help ideate, design, post, distribute, and analyze across platforms.

• Spaces – immersive locations for rare content, community, and rewards.

• Remuneration – for artists who opt in to AI training, with on-chain attribution and fair payouts.

• Guild has also pledged to:

• Restrict early token holders with cliffs and vesting to avoid dumping and rugpulls.

• Preserve governance for contributors, not short-term speculators.

The offering:

• Guild offers Token-based rewards and access:

• “Note” Tokens (fungible), which are earned through platform use, supporting rewards, payouts and commerce. Over 1/3 is allocated to the community, and real accrual is visible in the dashboard.

• Access Passes – unique tokens granting lifetime access, tools, early Note allocations, IRL events, and exclusive spaces.

Backing:

• Backers include Capital Factory, Polygon, and former Meta leaders, including Guild Founder & CEO Phillip Rather.

• Bruce Kalmick, Founder and CEO of WHY&HOW management and Wyatt Road Records, is an advisor.

• Guild’s development was shaped by over 2,500 artists, from early product testing to dataset curation.

What they said:

• Phillip Rather: “AI isn’t going away. But it doesn’t have to be extractive. With Guild, artists can help build the next generation of tools – and own the rights and the data that power them. They don’t need another app – they need a new model.”